Bilibili

Bilibili (stylized in all lowercase), nicknamed B Site, is a Chinese online video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view, and add overlaid commentary on videos.

Bilibili hosts videos on various themes, including anime, music, dance, science and technology, movies, drama, fashion, and video games, but it is also known for its extensive '' kuso''-style parodies by subcultural content creators. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its original niche market that focused on animation, comics, and games (ACG), and it has become a major Chinese over-the-top streaming platform serving videos on demand such as documentaries, variety shows, and other original programming.

Bilibili is known for its scrolling '' danmu'' (, "bullet curtain") commenting system. Bilibili also provides a live streaming service where the audience can interact with streamers. Bilibili also offers games, mostly ACG-themed mobile games, such as '' Azur Lane'' and the Chinese version of '' Fate/Grand Order''. In the third quarter of 2022, the number of average monthly active users reached about 332.6 million, including 28.5 million paying users.

History

Founding and early development (2009–2013)

Inspired by similar video sharing websites, Nico Nico Douga and AcFun, Xu Yi (, known as "⑨bishi" on the internet) founded Bilibili in June 26, 2009. At the time, Xu Yi was an AcFun user and wanted to create a better website than AcFun. He spent three days creating a prototype website named Mikufans.cn as a fandom community of Hatsune Miku. As it grew, he reshaped the website to specialise in video sharing and launched it on 14 January 2010 with the name Bilibili, a nickname for the protagonist Mikoto Misaka in the anime '' A Certain Scientific Railgun''. Bilibili also names many of its features after the anime and celebrates Mikoto Misaka's birthday on its homepage every year on 2 May.

Bilibili's domain name ''bilibili.us'' was revoked in 2011, because of the domain registrar enforcing .us restrictions. As a result, Bilibili switched to ''bilibili.tv'' on 25 June 2011. Later that year, Xu Yi founded the startup, Hangzhou Huandian Technology () based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, to develop and operate Bilibili. In April 2012, Bilibili obtained an agreement with Nico Nico Douga to webcast the latest Chinese- subbed episodes of the newly airing anime '' Fate/Zero'' starting from 7 April. However, the program was censored after three episodes for being reported as unauthorised operations of Internet audio-video broadcasting services and Hangzhou Huandian Technology was penalised and fined ¥10,000 by the local government. Bilibili started to display logos on its homepage in August 2012 to indicate its affiliation with the state-owned Shanghai Media Group and share the use of various content provider licenses in the hopes of avoiding future legal risks. Meanwhile, anonymous visitors to its website were redirected to a subdomain of Shanghai Media Group Broad Band subsidiary (bilibili.smgbb.cn).

Leadership change, expansion, and acquisitions (2014–2018)

In November 2014 () was appointed CEO and chairman of the board of Bilibili. Chen was an early member of Bilibili's community and started watching anime on the platform in 2010, before he met Xu Yi in 2014 when he was convinced to become the company's earliest investor. He was the fifth member of the company.

In October 2016, Bilibili announced that it would become the sponsor of the Shanghai Sharks basketball team, whose name was later changed to Shanghai Bilibili. Bilibili chose to sponsor the Shanghai Sharks as both entities originate from Shanghai. In December 2017, Bilibili purchased an e-sports team originally called ''IM'' for ''League of Legends'' and renamed it to Bilibili Gaming (BLG). In January 2018, Bilibili purchased the broadcasting rights to the spring competition season of LPL, '' League of Legends World Championship'', and '' League of Legends Rift Rivals''. In September of the same year, Bilibili purchased Hangzhou Spark, an ''Overwatch League'' team, which took part in the 2019 Overwatch League season. In March of that year Bilibili filed for an initial public offering of up to US$0.4 billion on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company listed on the NASDAQ on 28 March 2018.

Partnership with Sony, original programming, and second stock listing (2019–2021)

On 23 March 2019, Bilibili announced at AnimeJapan that they had partnered with Sony-owned American anime distributor Funimation to jointly license anime titles for both the U.S. and Chinese markets. On 9 April 2020, Sony Corporation of America announced it would acquire a 4.98% minority stake in Bilibili for , valuing Bilibili at . Upon completion of the deal, Sony and Bilibili signed an agreement for the expansion of anime and mobile games within the Chinese market. Later that year, Bilibili Esports, its e-sports arm, signed a partnership deal with Ping An Bank. Bilibili began its foray into original programming by joining the production of a fourth season for '' Informal Talks''. In August 2020, Bilibili produced the show . In December 2020, it produced a competition programme for voice actors called ''Voice Monster''.

In September 2020, the company launched Bilibili Video Satellite. On 3 February 2021, Bilibili announced it had acquired Shanghai Yarun Culture Communications Co., Ltd, the parent company of animation studio Haoliners Animation League and its subsidiaries. On 23 March 2021, it was reported that Bilibili would raise US$2.6 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange (HKEX). This would be the company's secondary listing, as it is already public on the NASDAQ in New York City. On 29 March 2021, Bilibili was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at an opening price of HK$790.

Programming

Features

Besides hosting video content, Bilibili's main feature is a real-time captioning system that displays user comments as streams of scrolling subtitles overlaid on the screen, visually resembling a ''danmaku'' shooter game. These are called bullet comments, '' danmu,'' or ''danmaku'' (). This system offers various subtitle controls, including style, format, and movement. Users can also create translated and '' soramimi'' subtitles, or special effects with carefully formed subtitles. Bilibili's platform also offers a feature called "advanced subtitles", where users can use an ECMAScript-based API to control video playback, dynamically change ''danmaku'' subtitles and draw shapes on the screen. This functionality is only available with the video poster's permission.

''Danmaku'' are easy to post, but only registered users who have passed a verification check and have a phone number tied to their account are allowed to post them. Comments usually move from right to left on a video, and if viewers do not wish to be distracted, they can disable them. There are three types of bullet comments offered on Bilibili: rolling comments, top comments and bottom comments. Non-registered user comments are limited to 20 characters while registered users have a character limit of 120 and may edit the size and colour of their comments. The video creator has the ability to save or delete comments. Bilibili users may use acronyms or slang unique to the site, such as the code "2333" to indicate laughter. Another type of comment unique to Bilibili is a "high energy alert" (), which is a kind of spoiler warning, to tell the audience that something exciting or climactic is approaching. Bilibili users communicate not only through text but also by frequently using emojis and ASCII art to express emotions or add humor. These symbols have become a unique cultural expression on the platform. For instance, the emoticon is commonly used to convey confidence or pride and has become a widely recognized form of interaction among users. Additionally, users employ attention-grabbing symbols such as "!!!" to mark a "high energy alert," signaling that an exciting or climactic moment is approaching. These symbols not only enrich user interactions but also strengthen the cohesion and uniqueness of the Bilibili community. Research result states that when the main purpose of watching videos is entertaining, the bullet comments meets the leisure and self-expression needs of users, though the Ministry of Culture of China has criticised the bullet comment system for allowing the spread of hateful messages on videos.

Operations

In 2012, Bilibili consisted of nine team members all versed in Japanese language and culture. Two are web developers, including Xu Yi himself, and the others were website editors and moderators. Bilibili is free to use, with its main revenue coming from webpage advertisement and affiliate marketing.

Membership

Most content on Bilibili is free for anonymous viewing, while some videos require a membership. Select videos are also only available under the Chengbao system, in which case members must pay to access them. Membership is also required to submit videos or comments. Bilibili limits its memberships to balance the quality of its users and moderation capacity. In March 2013, a limited number of invitation codes was shared with existing users. Registrants using the codes needed to complete 100 questions to become a premium member, with questions mostly related to ACG. On 19 May 2015, Bilibili reduced the number of questions to 50, with 20 questions on internet comment etiquette. On 26 February 2017, Bilibili reinstated the 100-question test, with a passing threshold of 60.

Subscription

On 9 October 2016, Bilibili launched a premium membership subscription service on the site, costing around ¥25 per month, or approximately US$2 per month on a long-term subscription. Premium members get access to videos in high resolution and can receive early access to certain videos, alongside other benefits such as discounts on Bilibili-owned games. From 1 January 2018, Bilibili extended its early access programme to premium members, giving them early access to certain episodes of animated series, with regular members needing to wait a week to watch them.

Account suspension

On 26 February 2017, an account blocking function was launched to regulate the website's content and users. Offensive comments can be deleted by administrators and offenders would be penalised. Accounts could be suspended temporarily or permanently, depending on the severity of the offence. On 15 June 2017, Bilibili launched a "discipline committee", allowing members to arbitrate reports of violations in some communities and decide whether the behaviour is illegal, and vote on the penalty.

Upload and review

Bilibili does not allow duplicate videos, but does allow high-resolution and lower-resolution versions of the same content. Similar to other Chinese video sharing websites, Bilibili is subject to strict censorship. As of 10 February 2017, individual users are prohibited from uploading videos regarding politics, with only certified bodies allowed to upload political content.

Bilibili Sports

Bilibili airs a sports programming entitled Bilibili Sports, the sports division of the Bilibili. Bilibili via Bilibili Sports officially obtained broadcasting rights for Meiji Yasuda J1 League for Southeast Asian countries excluding Thailand starts 2024 season. HIGHSPEED Étoile and F1 also aired in the same year.

Community

Bilibili's official mascots are elected by its community, Bili- tans, named "22" and "33".

Bilibili has also established affiliated communities: Corari (, currently offline), a collaboration project founding community; DrawYoo, a creative drawing community; The Ninth Channel, a support forum for Bilibili.

Games

The group's companies have published the following games in the Chinese market:

; Bilibili
*'' BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!''
*'' Guardian Tales''

; MICA Team / Sunborn Network Technology
*'' Girls' Frontline''

; (Wuhu) Sharejoy Network Technology Co. Ltd
*'' Fate/Grand Order''严查网游禁止内容,文化部公布6起典型案件
, Xinhua News Agency, 24 January 2018
*'' Azur Lane''
*''Bible Bullet''
*'' I-Chu''
*''Fantasy Hunter Story''

; Bilibili HK Limited
*'' 100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams''
*'' Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade''

; Shanghai Hode Information Technology
*''Ark Order''

Controversies

Cai Xukun

Cai Xukun, a Chinese artist and singer, was chosen as a spokesperson of the NBA in January 2019, sparking controversy. His introduction video from ''Idol Producer'', which involved him playing basketball, went viral. Following this, hundreds of parody videos appeared on Bilibili mocking the original video. Cai issued a lawsuit notice asking for Bilibili to remove the parody videos. Bilibili responded that they believed the videos were not illegal and refused to penalise the users who uploaded the videos. Lyrics from the video, such as "sing, dance, rap, basketball" went on to become viral as well. To prevent potential backlash and spam from users, Bilibili temporarily halted the verification of new accounts.

Servers in Taiwan

In September 2019, Bilibili was found to be renting servers illegally in Taiwan. The National Communications Commission required provider Chief Telecom to cease the tie-up immediately after the issue was discovered by a Taiwan-based think tank. Video on demand services based in mainland China are forbidden to operate in Taiwan due to national security concerns.

Source code leak

In April 2019, a repository called "Bilibili website backend codes", with a large number of usernames and passwords, was published on GitHub. The repository was taken down by GitHub due to "excessive use of resources". The repository amassed more than 6,000 stars in just a few hours. However, copies could still be found on GitHub and other platforms. Bilibili responded that the leaked code was from an older version of their website and that they had taken "defensive steps to ensure the accident won't compromise user data security".

996 work schedule

On 7 February 2022, an influencer known as Wang Luobei posted on Weibo about the death of a content moderator while at work in Bilibili's Wuhan subsidiary during the Lunar New Year holiday period. The cause of death was suspected to be overwork, sparking controversy amid the prevalence of the 996 work schedule in China's internet industry. Bilibili responded the same day that the employee was feeling unwell since the afternoon of 4 February 2022 and completed a standard nine-hour shift that day, ruling out the possibility of excessive work as the cause of death. The response was refuted by a Weibo user who claimed to be the cousin of the deceased, stating that he did not return home for the festive period and stayed behind in Wuhan for work.

Authority misuse

On 12 January 2025, a Bilibili user claimed that an employee exploited their position to insert malicious code into the platform's web version, causing the user’s account to display blank pages and repeated messages stating, "Your account has been banned." The user also shared chat logs showing the employee threatening to ban their account. The employee, identified as Ni (倪袁成), reportedly engaged in doxxing and personal retaliation after a disagreement with the user.

On 16 January, Bilibili confirmed the misuse of authority, terminated the employee, reported the case to regulators, and issued a public apology. The company removed the malicious code, disciplined related supervisors, and offered the affected user a one-year premium membership as compensation.

Socially responsible investing

Bilibili Video Satellite

Bilibili Video Satellite was launched on 15 September 2019. This satellite is developed by CIOMP and it is the first popular science video remote sensing satellite which customized by Chinese internet company. Bilibili wants to use this satellite to help uploaders to make more videos, including technology and humanities. And use it to excite and keep the new generation of Chinese youth in a curious spirit of exploration.

Bilibili Elementary School

On 26 June 2019, Bilibili announced that it has achieved deep cooperation with " Teach for China" to build an elementary school and provide support for teachers' humanity support, environment and school equipment in a village of Dali, Yunnan. Meanwhile, Bilibili will also give full play to its own advantages to support schools in providing curriculum resources such as art, science and innovation, and the cultivation of comprehensive literacy, enriching the video course resources of art, science and innovation in school.

See also

* Online video platform
* Comparison of video hosting services
* List of online video platforms

References

External links

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{{authority control

Video hosting
Chinese social networking websites
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Internet properties established in 2010
2018 initial public offerings
Hangzhou Spark
Live streaming services
Video game streaming services
Chinese brands
Chinese entertainment websites
Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange